Industry groups are pressing the government to toughen enforcement of mandatory product standards, questioning why enforcement actions appear to fall disproportionately on retailers while manufacturers of allegedly substandard goods largely escape prosecution.
More than 150 retailers were charged from January to May, compared with only one manufacturer, according to data cited by Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) Standards Committee Chair Ernesto Ordoñez at a press briefing marking National Standards Week.
The industry groups said the disparity underscores the need to pursue violations at the source and ensure that inspection findings result in prosecution, penalties, and public disclosure of enforcement outcomes.
“We have to go after the manufacturers,” Ordoñez said, stressing that enforcement focused primarily on retailers may fail to address the production and distribution of substandard goods.
The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) also raised concerns over the gap between government enforcement findings and industry monitoring of steel bars.
PISI President Joel Ronquillo said the Department of Trade and Industry’s enforcement teams have reported violation rates of below 5%, while PISI’s monitoring has consistently recorded rates above 50%. Recent inspections in Regions 4A and 7, he added, yielded violation rates as high as 70%.
Ronquillo acknowledged that government response to private-sector reports has improved, with action now taking days or weeks instead of the roughly two months previously experienced. But he said the faster response must be followed by visible enforcement results.
“There are hardly any DTI reports on actual penalties imposed,” Ronquillo said.
FPI Chair Emeritus Jesus Arranza called for stronger mechanisms to ensure that mandatory standards are not merely written into regulations but effectively enforced.
The groups said faster investigations, prosecution of erring manufacturers, and greater transparency on penalties would strengthen deterrence, encourage industry reporting, protect consumers, and prevent compliant manufacturers from being undercut by businesses selling substandard products.
The group stressed that inspections should not end with reports. They should end with accountability.
